blend

American  

[blend] / blɛnd /

verb (used with object)

blended, blent, blending

1. to mix smoothly and inseparably together.

   to blend the ingredients in a recipe.

   Synonyms:

   commingle, mingle, compound, unite, amalgamate, combine

   Antonyms:

   separate

2. to mix (various sorts or grades) in order to obtain a particular kind or quality.

   Blend a little red paint with the blue paint.

3. to prepare by such mixture.

   This tea is blended by mixing chamomile with pekoe.

4. Phonetics. to pronounce (an utterance) as a combined sequence of sounds.

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verb (used without object)

blended, blent, blending

1. to mix or intermingle smoothly and inseparably.

   I can't get the eggs and cream to blend.

   Synonyms:

   coalesce, unite, amalgamate, combine, commingle, mingle

   Antonyms:

   separate

2. to fit or relate harmoniously; accord; go.

   The brown sofa did not blend with the purple wall.

3. to have no perceptible separation.

   Sea and sky seemed to blend.

noun

1. an act or manner of blending.

   tea of our own blend.

   Synonyms:

   amalgamation, combination

2. a mixture or kind produced by blending.

   a special blend of rye and wheat flours.

   Synonyms:

   amalgamation, combination

3. Linguistics. a word made by putting together parts of other words, as motel, made from motor and hotel, brunch, from breakfast and lunch, or guesstimate, from guess and estimate.

4. Phonetics. a sequence of two or more consonant sounds within a syllable, as the bl in blend; consonant cluster.

verb phrase

1. blend in to escape attention by looking or acting like other members of a group or like the surrounding environment: salamanders that blend in with mossy surfaces.

   tourists who try to blend in with the locals;

   salamanders that blend in with mossy surfaces.

blend British  

/ blɛnd /

verb

1. to mix or mingle (components) together thoroughly

2. (tr) to mix (different grades or varieties of tea, whisky, tobacco, etc) to produce a particular flavour, consistency, etc

3. (intr) to look good together; harmonize

4. (intr) (esp of colours) to shade imperceptibly into each other

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noun

1. a mixture or type produced by blending

2. the act of blending

3. Also called: portmanteau word.  a word formed by joining together the beginning and the end of two other words

   "brunch" is a blend of "breakfast" and "lunch"

Usage

What is a basic definition of blend? Blend means to mix together so thoroughly that things become inseparable. Blend is also the mixture made through this act. Blend can mean to harmonize or go well together. Blend has a few other senses as a verb and noun.When two or more things are blended together, they have been combined so completely that it is impossible to separate them back out again. For example, you blend cocoa powder with milk to make chocolate milk. Turning that chocolate milk back into milk and cocoa powder is not going to happen. This sense of blend is a synonym of the word mix, although blend usually means to mix something especially thoroughly.Something, such as a specialized kitchen appliance, that blends things is called a blender.

• Real-life examples: Smoothies are made by blending fruit with milk or yogurt. Different teas are blended together to make different flavors. The romantic comedy genre of movies blends the genres of romance and comedy together.
• Used in a sentence: She made a delicious banana smoothie by blending milk with bananas. 

Blend is used in this same sense a noun to refer to a mixture created by blending things together, literally or figuratively.

• Real-life examples: Starbucks offers many blends of coffee. There are many different blends of wine, such as Champagne and Chianti.
• Used in a sentence: The book was an odd blend of horror and history. 

Blend is also used as a verb to mean to go well together or harmonize. This sense usually refers to colors, such as a green chair blending with a green wall. This sense is also commonly phrased as “blend in” such as a chameleon turning brown to blend in with a tree or log. When related to harmony, blend often refers to how voices and instruments create a combined tone.

• Real-life examples: Usually, people like to get furniture that blends, or has a similar color or pattern, with wallpaper or carpeting because it makes a room look nicer. A person may prefer socks that blend with their pants. Most people try to blend in with the people around them rather than stick out and appear strange or different. A chorus practices hard to ensure their voices blend well.
• Used in a sentence: We tried to find a couch that blends with the color of our living room carpet.

Related Words

See mix.

Other Word Forms

• nonblended adjective
• nonblending adjective
• reblend verb
• unblended adjective
• well-blended adjective

Etymology

Origin of blend

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English blenden (the first e not satisfactorily explained) “to mix”; akin to Old English blandan “to mix”; cognate with or partially derived from the Old Norse verb blanda (from the present stem blend- ), Old High German blantan “to mix”

Example Sentences

Singer who pioneered neo-soul, a genre blending R&B with other types of music, including hip-hop and jazz, D'Angelo rose to fame in the 1990s with his debut album Brown Sugar.

From BBC

A year on, they were the eighth biggest-selling act in the world, with critics calling their blend of 1990s R&B and sugar-coated pop melodies a "game-changer".

From BBC

Expansive vocal backgrounds were blended with a pronounced bass, synthesizers, chattering horns and pounding drums.

From The Wall Street Journal

The alloy is produced by combining aluminum with several other elements, chosen through a process that blends computer simulations with machine learning.

From Science Daily

The blended result of these brackets is your effective tax rate.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• amalgam
• brew
• combination
• concoction
• fusion
• mixture
• synthesis